Teenage Wasteland
by PunchDrunkPunk
Summary: Katherine Cole is shy, paralyzingly so. She likes someone but what happens when a friend becomes more than a friend? Sometimes things just don't turn out the way they're planned.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay. Okay. This is it. I'm not going to spend my third year here sitting alone. Oh, God, is it hot in here? Is it just me? Do I have sweat marks on my t-shirt? How _is _my t-shirt? Okay- no one will be able to see the coffee stain if I just casually rest my hand on it- why do the buses have to _fly_? Especially when I'm trying to drink scalding liquids… Jesus- it is really hot in here. Okay- one foot… in front of the other… like that… okay, it's fine. I'm fine. This isn't so bad. Ok, who do I know- who do I know? Umm… that girl… what's her name? I'm so bad with names… the plant girl… Layla! Like the song. Layla- she smiled. Good sign, okay Kate smile back… smile… good. Go… walk…Oh no, she's with WILL…he looks so cute… I can't turn around now, it's too late, they saw me coming… this was such a bad idea… _

"Hey Layla, mind if I sit with you guys?" She smiled nervously at Layla, who was sitting with Will and their friends Magenta, Warren, Ethan and Zack, though only her best friend would have recognized her as anything but composed.

"Yeah- Katherine, sit with us! How was your summer?" She'd chosen Layla for her friendliness, sure she wouldn't be snubbed, but her enthusiasm was a bit, well, enthusiastic for Kate… And also Will. Kate had a thing for boyish guys, but she was 98 positive from the puzzled look on his face that he didn't even know her name. After two years. In the same small high school.

"Um, it was good, I guess, what about you?"

"Will and I went to Raging Waters and Hurricane Harbor and Magenta _finally _got her license so now she can drive us wherever we want, and we hung out at Will's, because he has a pool, it was so fun! What did you do?" Layla's eyes sparkled happily; she'd gotten prettier over the summer. There was color in her cheeks, making her dark eyes shine and contrasting prettily with the sun highlights in her hair. Kate felt washed out next to her, her cheeks remained stubbornly colorless and sheet-white.

"I worked, hung out with my best friend- nothing really." _Oh god, she's making me sweat more. They're all looking at me… I'm going to throw up… breathe… breathe. _

"Oh, who? Does she go here? I always see you in the library during lunch, are you a teacher's assistant then?" _So… many… questions… _She couldn't fault her for being nice, though. Even if she might want to.

"Oh, no. Johnny goes to public school… he's just a normal guy."

"Ohhh, Johnny? Is he cute? Are you guys, like, going out?" Kate could see that Layla was trying to make conversation- she knew she wasn't exactly the easiest person to talk to. She laughed, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Johnny's gay, so we're definitely not going out." For the first time her voice showed the barest hint of emotion, almost as if challenging Layla to object to her best friend. The one person she would stand up for, herself included. Layla giggled uncertainly, and Kate stood up to leave. "Well, it was really nice talking to you guys, but, uh, I have to go finish my Mad Science homework before next period." She walked quickly for the side exit of the cafeteria, swinging her long and impossibly perfect-looking French braid over her shoulder when it fell against her face as she bent to dump her tray into the bin._ Homework? _She thought to herself with a wince. _On the first day? Good thinking fast, they're gonna think I hate them… Oh, shit._

"Mmm. Uptight much?" It was Magenta, and Zack and Will stifled snickers under Layla's disapproving gaze. "Come on, Layla- if that stick up her ass got any bigger the Dodgers would be using it as a baseball bat." Layla merely frowned amid the laughter.

"Katherine's just shy, she was my lab partner last year and she is really nice." It wasn't so much what Kate said, but that she was so stiff… rigid-seeming, even. It was their first day- she couldn't have Mad Science homework.

"She just thinks she's too good for us," Zack said, puffing himself up. "Thinks she's too good for everyone here." Magenta poked him under his ribcage, he deflated in one harsh exhale as he laughed. Ticklish guy.

"Um, who isn't too good for Zack?" Magenta deadpanned, though the joke's object wasn't laughing.

Warren pulled his headphones up from their spot around his neck, scrolling up the volume and burying himself in a book. Sixteen year olds…

In the bathroom, Kate leaned over the sinks, her forehead touching the mirror as she watched her breath grow and fade in the clouds fogging the glass. She breathed a streak of fog against the mirror before writing _I hate school _in tiny, condensed letters in the steam. She stepped back to examine herself. What was so wrong with her? _My eyes… are still brown. Hair… still brown. Skin… still shows no signs of any contact with sunlight in the past three years- nope, nothing different. _She shook her wrists as one would do if they were trying to psych themselves up for something, and grabbed her bag off of the floor, clumsily swinging it over her shoulder and wincing as it hit the sunburn on her back. Johnny was always making her lay out, but while His Brazilian Highness browned to mocha, Kate was allowed approximately two minutes in the sun before she turned a rather unusual shade of magenta and had to sit her pale, non-exotic ass in Johnny's mom's cabana for the rest of the afternoon. Johnny's dad was some kind of business hotshot, which basically translated to free pool access while Johnny's mom Adriana chain smoked in the home gym and Johnny's dad Mario came home about an hour a week. If Kate was lucky, she even got to watch Johnny's older brother Adam swim laps… in a Speedo. Twenty-one years old, he worked part-time as a "talent consultant," as he told his family. Translation: he secretly supplied teenagers with a "talent" for their parents' money with whatever _supplies _they might be requiring- legal or not. Even Johnny didn't know, but people had a way of not noticing Kate when they were talking- she knew too many strangers' secrets for her taste. He was a dick, but still. She was only looking… and who wouldn't? He was hot, one of those blue-eyed boys with freckles under their tan and shaggy hair. Who cared if he called her Caitlin more than Kate or Katherine? At least he knew the first letter of her name, more than she could say for Will… the boy she actually liked. The boy she'd spent countless hours of work stocking shelves in the library thinking about talking to.

_And yet… I didn't even look at him once, at that table. Stupid. _She shook her head as if trying to dissuade herself of something and left the bathroom at a swift walk, letting the door bang shut behind her. She was almost late to Mad Science- it'd taken her a good twenty minutes to work up the courage to even go into the cafeteria. She darted quickly into the room, trying to inconspicuously find a seat in the back out of view of Medulla and her classmates. She didn't need to worry much, his Sidekick classes weren't anywhere near as strict as for Heroes, she'd heard. Too nervous to power up on her first day, she knew most people didn't think she even had a power, so Sidekick she was. It wasn't so bad at all.

"Hey Katherine!" Layla called to her from the doorway, and wound her way through students and tables to plop her bag beside the seated girl's, smiling broadly. _What the hell- I don't want to be alone for the next half of high school _

"My friends call me Kate," she ventured tentatively. Layla's broad smile grew broader.

"Kate," she said, and turned to face Medulla, who'd begun talking about the strangely colored orbs in their glass cases on his desk. Kate felt a strange warmth in the pit of her stomach. Was it good, or bad? She genuinely liked Layla…. And her boyfriend. Will.


	2. Maroon?

They didn't say anything to each other for the rest of the class. Kate spent the duration of the afternoon trying to block out the how-was-your-summer first day shit by picking mercilessly at her cuticles, the one less-than-put-together part of her appearance. Her fingers were unusually long, and while they were slender she had hands big enough to rival any boy she knew. When she was little, she'd thought that if she bit her nails and cuticles, her fingers might get shorter- the logic of a seven year old, but it was a nervous habit now. She was full of them, never not nervous, she chewed the inside of her cheek, twirled the tip of her ever-braided hair, did that Three-Stooges snap-snap-clap fist thing she couldn't seem to stop, covered the scar she'd gotten skateboarding when she and Johnny had gone through a short-lived Dogtown and Z-Boys phase last year. She'd been holding onto the back of Johnny's car- pretty much the most homo baby blue Jetta ever- and they'd been doing about thirty, she'd been pretty cool until he hadn't seen the palm frond in the road and _slide, _that hurt. Even diagonal lines marched up her forearm from halfway below her elbow to her shoulder, culminating in that looked like a cigarette burn with a scratch through it, where she'd had to get Johnny to dig a rock out of the flesh under her wrist. She normally wore long sleeves, but she'd forgotten to be embarrassed of herself over the summer, something she now regretted as she shrunk under sidelong scrutinizing gazes. She almost wanted to scream _I don't cut myself! _because it did look like she did it on purpose. Almost.

She seemed to shrink about three inches when Johnny's car came into view in all it's ridiculous baby blue glory, going from rigid to her natural 5'7" as she let out the breath she wasn't sure she'd even been holding. She took the steps to the ground quickly, fingers trailing the side of the bus as her pace quickened until she threw herself into the passenger seat of Liberace the trusty German.

"So Kitty Kat how's the fall of our discontent going?" She had to smile to herself as Johnny veered into traffic without so much as a backward glance. He made everyone smile. She was lucky that junior high had been such a heinous and close-minded place, otherwise Johnny might never have turned to her from the table they were eating at, each alone, and asked "what are you listening to?" Lucky he liked classic rock as much as she did. Lucky she'd smiled at him, and they'd swapped lunches: her health food for his Ho-Ho's. In high school, he was that guy, the one who got the lead in plays without even trying out. He was just a performer- his whole life was a performance, it seemed.

"That bad, right?" He flicked her on the neck because she didn't turn towards him or respond. "Well, how's Will doing?" He put special emphasis on the name, and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. She laughed.

"He's doing… fine with Layla."

"Ew."

"My thoughts exactly." For a while they were quiet, listening to The Who while they drove.

Johnny wouldn't let Kate stop for their usual Diet Coke and chocolate chip cookie binge, prodding her in the back until she was practically running upstairs to his room. They hardly had enough time to get this done as it was: Kate had to go to work at the library and Johnny had to go do his community service hours, walking dogs at the pound as a punishment for his Minor in Possession charge, when he'd gotten caught last semester drinking beer in the street.

"Okay- take your hair down," he ordered and Kate deftly pulled the tie out of her hair, fingers practiced as they worked their way up, undoing her French braid.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She was getting nervous. Johnny was impulsive enough for the both of them, did he have to bring her into this? But he was already reaching for a box of hair color, he'd chosen from the sample swatches he'd been holding up to her cheek. He'd brought a box of hair dyes from the community college's costuming department; he always took classes in costuming when he was trying to charm his way into a college play. Being the klepto that he was, he always brought home "souvenirs," sometimes for Kate- no matter how hard she tried to refuse. Did she really need a _cape? _He was the one trying out for Cyrano De Bergerac.

"Can I at least see what color it-"

"No. It was my birthday, you said I could dye your hair and color I wanted. Kat I have been waiting five years to do this. You cannot back out now. You have gorgeous hair- it's so long and straight, but it's just so _brown._" She winced; brown it was. Straight- not so much, though she straightened it every day. She'd finally convinced her mother to get her a hair straightened after months of begging, for her twelfth birthday- she wanted normal hair before she started junior high like a big kid. Her mom didn't understand, she loved Kate's ringlets, but Kate had always felt- even as a kid- that she had been born with someone else's hair. Someone bold and fierce and exciting. Someone like Johnny, though picturing him with her long feral curls made her laugh, earning her a smack on the shoulder from Johnny, her hiccupping laugh made her shoulders shake as he was trying to get the dye line even along her widow's peak. Facing away from the mirror, Kate had nothing to do besides attempting to avoid asphyxiation, and her mind drifted back to her lunch fiasco earlier. What was that girl Magenta's deal? She was intimidating, the only one who appeared openly amused at her discomfort talking to them. _She's a bitch, _Kate decided. _Just screw her. _

She endured Johnny's hands scraping her sensitive scalp, endured the twenty-five minutes it took for the dye to soak in, the shower where the water ran red like blood. _Great. I am going to look like a fire hydrant. _

"Johnny- I am going on the record right now: I HATE YOU. You dyed it red?" She heard his laugh, a child's laugh, and seethed.

"It's not red. I swear." Sensing her anger, headed "Kitty Kat," in a singsong voice, knowing she could never stay mad at him when he called her that, much as she might hate it coming from anyone else. They couldn't even remember where he'd come up with the nickname, but it had stuck and so he called her Kat for the most part. He told her that Kate made her sound too uptight.

She got out of the shower and made Johnny go so she could get dressed. Wet, her hair still appeared black and it was hard to tell what color it would be, exactly. A good sign, though, that it appeared nowhere near candy-apple red. She reached for the blow drier, glad she'd remembered this when she was getting ready for school and had put her hair straightened in her bag. Johnny burst in the door as he head the blow drier, and firmly wrenched it from her grasp.

"Just let it dry, with dye the first twenty-four hours you're not supposed to wash it or style it." She rolled her eyes and moved to grab the drier, but he was faster and threw it out the open window. He had a rich person's disregard for money, she thought to herself as she contemplated the hour she would spend talking to annoying schoolchildren about the books they had been reading and giving them a stamp so they could win a bad bar of chocolate, or whatever. She started to separate her wet hair, ready to braid it but Johnny stopped her again.

"Kat- _relax. _Just let it air-dry, so we can see how it looks."

"Fine," she snapped, irritated now. They didn't speak on the way to the public library, and as Kate moved to get out Johnny spoke.

"Your hair's gonna look great," he said, and she frowned. She'd almost managed to forget that her hair was wet and bedraggled, clinging to her shirt. "I'm picking you up at seven, right?" She nodded, and he pulled away from the curb. She shivered as her cold hair swung over her arms, and pulled open the glass doors she wouldn't be able to walk out of for four more hours. Yippee.

Johnny's mouth hung open in surprise as she slid into the car, wishing she had a hood to cover her maroon hair. Maroon. _Chocolate Cherry, _to be specific. It was slightly darker than her average brown, and had a distinctly reddish sheen in the sun. She was pissed. It made her look even more pale than before, when she'd thought that was impossible, and made her dark brown eyes even darker and more murky, definitely unattractive. She was becoming a freak show.

"What'd you do to your hair? It looks great!" She wanted to smack the look of surprise off of his face as his gaze wandered up and down her somewhat wild hair. It was serpentine, there were no ringlets at all though the curls looked as if the belonged to a mermaid or sea creature instead of a shy girl who wished she lived in old movies.

She remained somewhat cool as he talked to her, responding minimally as he told her about the dogs he'd had to take care of at the pound. Johnny was definitely not an animal person, though his talk of dogs reminded Kate that she needed to walk her dog, Zooey. When she got home she grabbed an apple as she searched for Zooey's leash, and crunched into it as she walked the boxer-pit bull mix down the street, watching the white and tan tail swing in front of her.

She didn't want to wash or straighten her hair the next morning, afraid that it really would turn candy-apple red then, and she turned nearly as maroon as her hair when she saw the bus pull up to her street. Eyes fell on her as she passed seated classmates, making her way to the back of the bus. Layla and Will climbed the steps two stops later, and made their way towards her at Layla's urging.

"Great hair! Did you curl it?" Kate merely shook her head, the right corner of her mouth lifting as Will smiled at her. He _smiled. _This year was definitely looking up.

**I completely took the scar from me, people always ask me if my skateboarding scar was on purpose, and my school councelor called me in because she was "concerned that I was taking my feelings out on myself." It sucks. Hope you enjoyed this, though. **


	3. The Rat and the Cat

_Since when did Sidekicks have to participate in Save the Citizen? Bullshit, I am telling you. Bullshit. It's all well and good to watch Will and Warren frolic around breaking people like legos but why can't I just watch? Like always…_

"Silverman and Ashlock- heroes or villains?" The winning duo exchanged glances-a blue eyed boy and silvery-gray eyed girl who quickly turned back to Coach Boomer.

"Villains." They could've been twins; for all they weren't related identical smirks bloomed on their faces. Tawny Ashlock, the girl, was lithe, small-boned and slightly elfish. Her skin was tanned an even brown, and her hair was a sun-streaked and very light blonde. She was beautiful, but the predatory look in her eyes made Kate uneasy, and she could hypnotize anyone who gazed into those lamp-like orbs should she care to. Brett Silverman was her opposite in many ways, fair-skinned with ruddy cheeks and hair, his blue eyes were light and slightly crystalline. His build was large, broad-shouldered and solid in a way that made crowds in the hall clear for him- a good thing too, for he could turn to metal in milliseconds, skin becoming no longer flesh but steel, gray and cold. Nearly indestructible, he could only be melted or bent- two things Will and Warren were happy to do for him in their many meetings in the gym.

"Choose your heroes!" Boomer, well, boomed. Kate looked to Will and Warren, who were seated next to each other and looked at each other much as Tawny and Brett had, with some kind of anticipation.

"We want…. Purple Girl, and… You- yes, you-" Kate had been trying to look away, look at anything but Tawny and her slightly higher than average voice. "Mute Girl-"

"Magenta Black and Katherine Cole- suit up!" For the first time, Magenta and Kate looked at each other with no hint of antipathy on either side. Magenta merely rolled her eyes, smirking back at Kate as she smiled.

"So, uh, Katherine- right?"

"Kate, or Katie, if you like, of my best friend calls me Kat, or even Kay, that's what my mom calls me-" _Kate shut _up _what are you doing? Are you going to babble them to death or something? _Magenta gave her a slightly puzzled look.

"Kat. I like it- I'm gonna call you Kat. So Kat, what can you do? I'm not exactly sure what a guinea pig can do here, but uh…"

"Well- I can shape-shift, too. Into a lion." She glanced at Magenta, who was looking slightly discouraged.

"Cool. A rat and a cat- this should be… educational."

"Well, actually it's not a cat though it is a feline, the term cat's typically-"

"I was being sarcastic."

"So was I," replied Kate, voice dropping the overly peppy tone of moments before. Magenta yanked her gaze up and down Kate once, as if reappraising her, and the corners of her mouth twitched before she pushed past the slightly taller girl, walking into the ring with a confidence Kate envied as she slunk after her.

Boomer marked the start of their round with a call that echoed and the timer began to click slowly, momentously, towards zero. Kate stood with braced feet, terrified into paralysis. Magenta was Guinea Pigging along the floor, trying to get close enough to the citizen to shift and grab it. Tawny wasn't having it, and she dropped to her knees, halting Magenta in a different kind of paralysis than the one Kate felt gripping her limbs. The partially purple guinea pig slowly started to nod, her eyes looked glassy and unfocused. Tawny's full-fledged grin was full of self-satisfied malice and Kate felt a chill slide down her spine, although she looked quickly away lest Tawny raise her gaze and meet her with those color-leached eyes, so eerie with their near-black rims inside dark lashes. Brett was in front of her, suddenly, his skin glinting dully gray.

Something slammed into her mouth before she had even processed Brett's appearance, and Kate's vision blurred. An uproar flared from the crowd, and as Kate blinked she saw Will and Layla on their feet with Ethan and Zack, screaming, even Warren looking slightly concerned despite himself. Angry, now, she lunged backwards in a startling display of coordination, the onlookers were reminded of a startled cat. She spat blood onto the basketball court-like floor, and a shard of white- a piece of the tooth that rested just to the side of her right center tooth. Even in her somewhat shocked oblivion she could hear a collective groan, she almost smiled thinking of the nauseous looks that would be on so many girls faces. She looked up and met Brett's eyes, smiling now. Blood dripped down her chin onto the polished floors, and he felt almost scared- he was no longer sure she looked sane, though she was ostensibly powerless.

Kate laughed, then, a hoarse laugh that matched her slightly raspy voice, and no one could remember having heard this strange, curly-haired girl laugh before. The laugh seemed to grow louder, more of a roar than a laugh, and she seemed to shrink from her height of 5'7". Brett found himself looking into down two slit-pupiled eyes, more brown than a feline's normally were- the eyes of the "mute girl," a large and now deadly-looking lioness. She charged him, and he jumped to the side at the last second. Boomer roared his own roar, a warning that there was only ten seconds left to save the citizen. The lion's head turned to the clock, before- ignoring Brett- it made a run for the citizen that was dangling mechanically above waiting silver incisors.

She was off of the ground, leaping, so close in her powerful lion's body. Brett was desperate, he had to stop her, he was so close-

He punched the cat, hard, in the side. She was knocked off course as the buzzer sounded, the citizen annihilated. The crowd had gasped yet again as the metal slab of an arm shot at the cat-girl with the power of a cannon. Magenta was sitting spread-eagled on the floor now, looking slightly disoriented and more than slightly angry. Tawny slapped Brett on the shoulder in a congratulation and the two of them headed for the locker room as Boomer announced that the buses were arriving; gym was the last period of the day. People cast sidelong glances at the two sidekicks on the floor, and the room slowly emptied but for Layla, Warren, Ethan, Zack and Will.

Zack tried unsuccessfully to look unconcerned about the slightly stupefied purple girl sitting on the floor while Will, Layla and Warren crouched over the large cat.

"Kate, Kate- can you hear me? Kate, it's Layla, are you okay?" The cat both slimmed and elongated, giving way to a girl who's skin looked more chalky than usual. Now that they had seen her shape-shift, they were struck with the realization that she was very cat-like, her cheekbones angled unusually and her eyes were heavy-lidded and unreadable.

"Layla- I'm fine. I feel like I've been shanked by about seven really angry inmates, but I've never been better." The boys smiled, but Layla's gaze remained steadily maternal. Kate moved to sit up, but tensed in pain as she felt a stab, knifelike, in the middle of her ribcage.

"That's what I thought," Layla's voice was somewhat smug, and Kate found herself loathing Layla irrationally in that one moment. The green-clad girl nodded her head at Kate, her gaze on Warren, and the larger of the two boys stood, bending and scooping Kate up all too easily for her taste. He held her close to his chest to protect her ribcage, and started for the door she knew would lead to the nurse's office. She let herself lean against him, the closest she'd ever really gotten to a straight boy who wasn't wearing a WWJD t-shirt… don't even ask. He smelled nice, sort of smoky and that sweet boy-smell, the kind that reminded you of soft hair and smooth shoulders to lean on. She could almost stay like this forever…


	4. Truly Madly Deeply

**Okay, sorry for the short chapter, but I have three tests tomorrow (of course I haven't studied yet) and I didn't edit this, so there'll be some errors but I figured you might want to read it; I'll post a checked version tomorrow. Enjoy.**

4 Peanut Butter Cups from Will next lunch.

1 Coffee (with ginseng added) smoothie from Blenders in the Grass from Johnny.

3 Vases of flowers from Layla that made Kate sneeze.

1 New library volunteer.

Minus 1 -e, from Kate.

And all for 2 cracked ribs. Magenta gave her a bad sort of present: her friendship. Meaning: Kat's ribs felt jackknifed every time Magenta made her laugh- which was often. Zach as well, actually, although it was mostly at him, and the sort of laughter more easily repressed. The whole Kat-thing had caught on, especially because the group now realized how well-suited Katherine Lucy Cole was to being a Kat. Kat didn't have the heart to tell Layla she was allergic to daisies, and came to school for the next week with red eyes and a runny nose- attractive, really. The four peanut butter cups were welcome to the girl who'd live off of blue peanut M & M's if she could, the smoothie for the girl who couldn't see straight pre-coffee in the morning.

Kat began eating with Layla and her lunch table regularly, smiling as they tried- unsuccessfully, for the most part- to tease, prod, and cajole the shy girl out of her shell. They came to think of her as a friend, they all felt protective of Kat. Their Kat, it seemed now. She became less shy around them as weeks passed, even making jokes, and leaving her hair unstraightened more often than not- though she still squirmed when her slightly leonine mane of curls attracted glances.

Even Warren was warming to the quiet teen, he often asked her about the books she was reading in the quiet hours they spent together in the library- employee and new volunteer. They discovered they had the same taste in both books and music, although they could never agree on the definition of a "good" movie. From Jane Austen to Salinger to Isabel Allende, from The Who to The Shins to The Whitest Boy Alive, The Presets, and Pink Floyd. It was undisputed between them that Bob Dylan was both a poet and a musician- perhaps the greatest. Warren would never believe that movies made now could ever be as good as Rebel Without a Cause and Some Like it Hot, while Kat argued that American Beauty and Brick were at least as powerful, and Little Miss Sunshine was in a class of comedy all of it's own- Some Like it Hot be damned (although James Dean and Marilyn Monroe were definitely babes, she decided privately).

They forged a friendship, almost, in the afternoons they spent arguing over book genres (Kat nearly always being right, having been organizing the Card Catalogue for almost a year and a half). She worked, and Warren stocked shelves, fulfilling his court-ordered community service hours minute by minute. Besides, he reasoned, the "arson" had been accidental, and Elena Frost had put the fire out nearly as quickly as it had been started. She'd put out that fire almost as quickly as she'd put out _their _fire, they'd hooked up maybe three times before both moved on. This reasoning was useful, especially when it came to having no objection to cutting work and OD'ing on helium from the balloon-making thing in the back storage room, the one that they used to use to give kids lame prizes for every book they read in the summer reading contest even he could remember having entered as a kid, hoping to win the giant slab of chocolate in the shape of a W, you know, or whatever the name of the kid who won was.

It took nearly two days to convince Kat that abusing the helium machine and leaving their jobs wasn't grounds to get fired; she was still reluctant as they tried to surreptitiously open the employees only door and slipped behind it. No one's gonna steal anything, he reasoned. Ms. Sorkin isn't going to find out.

Warren liked Kat more than most girls, she was a good listener. She liked him because he seemed to just observe things, not judging or assuming just because he could.

"Oh. My. God. Becky, look at her butt. It is so _big_. She looks like one of those rap guy's girlfriends. I don't understand those rap guys." Kat's heliumed cartoon voice chirped, she couldn't help herself. Warren gave her a look usually reserved for those in need of a straight jacket, but laughed in spite of himself- a surprisingly sweet and lilting laugh. By the time Kat got to "my anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hon-" complete with the "whoo-pshhhhh" sound effects and the crack of an invisible whip Warren was fairly concerned that his spleen was on the verge of rupture. She was laughing too hard to sing at that point, and flopped onto one of the navy blue fuzzy blocks that used to adorn the kid's section, the ones that were basically the library's version of disguising furniture as toys too- tightwads.

"Your turn, your turn," she said in her normal voice once her laughter had subsided some, although she was still breathing in strangled gasps and wiping her eyes. He rolled his eyes and she kicked him, launching him from his precarious perch stretched between two blocks.

"Bitch," he muttered, and she lifted her leg again. "Alright, Jesus," he grumbled before turning the nozzle of the helium tank, inhaling the gas through a tube. He stood, theatrically rolling up his black sleeves to expose tanned forearms. A vein ran deliciously up from his wrist until disappearing into his sleeve. Kat wanted to touch it, to lick it, maybe. Oh, God- she'd had enough helium for one day. He assumed some kind of demented boy band pose: hands over his crotch, head down in what could only be an attempt at "contemplative," a blatant NSync mockery.

"Okay," he said in a mocking over-emotional voice, raising one hand to point to her as he lifted his gaze, eyes meeting hers. "This one's for you, Kat." The left corner of his mouth twitched.

"I'll be your dream I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy, I'll be your hope I'll be your love be everything that you need," Kat was laughing, belly laughing now- the kind that made her snort and sound like a pack-a-day smoker. By the time he got to "I wanna stand with you on a mountain I wanna bathe with you in the sea I wanna live like this forever until the sky falls down on me," Kat was sure she had, in fact, peed in her pants a little.

"Oh my god," she gasped, voice high between laughs, "you have to stop- I'm dying." He sat- half-sat, half-fell down next to her- the helium was making her feel like she'd been hot boxing- another favorite pastime she and Warren shared. They sat together like that, letting their laughter subside in between helium hits and Disney cartoon monologues.

"You smell good," she said to him- regretting it instantly. He turned to her, a smile playing across his lips.

"You do too." She let her head fall onto his shoulder, goose bumps ran reflexively down his spine as her breath whispered onto his neck, tickling his ear at even intervals.


	5. Honey and the Moon

**Okay, author's requirement: download the song "Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur, listen while you read this chapter and enjoy, because Joseph Arthur is an artistic genius. To any non-Californians who might've been confused last chapter, hotboxing is smoking weed in an enclosed space, like a car (you know how Spicoli was always hitting his bong in that VW van he had, in Fast Times at Ridgemont High?). It makes the air in the car or wherever smoky and you get a better high. So, enjoy or don't, but here you are.**

They sat like that for a long time, it seemed, each in their own- slightly hazy at the moment- worlds. She felt stoned, like when she smoked the good weed Johnny snuck from his brother, who Johnny thought was just a pothead, nearly every weekend and everything felt soft and warm and the body next to her was warm and-_shit_. Kay heard footsteps, then, and jumped to her feet. Warren was quick on her heels as she ran for the checkout counter, recognizing the voice she heard as belonging to her boss, Gloria Sorkin. She stopped short in her tracks at the sight of Gloria, pushing horn-rimmed glasses up her aquiline nose.

"Who's supposed to be working at the information counter?" She knew the answer.

"I, uh, I-" Kat's voice cracked.

"I was," a low tone sounded from behind her. "I told Kat I'd work the counter because she was going to go pick up those blue blocks… you know, the ones that used to be in the kid's section? She and I were talking, and we thought we should fix up the kid's room before classes start coming in on library field trips. I went back to help her, because I remembered the blocks were really heavy." Ms. Sorkin flipped her eyes up and down from the tall boy to the girl who's crown barely reached his shoulder.

"Good idea, but next time leave someone at the desk- allowing the checkout counter to remain unsupervised is a fireable offense." She swept off, walking briskly towards the set of stairs that led to the basement level of the building where she managed the books on tape and DVD's. Kat glanced up, giving Warren such a reproachful look that he nearly laughed.

"I don't even work here," Warren grumbled, but he waited until she was out of earshot.

"Told you we'd get in trouble," her voice was somewhat accusing. He merely shrugged, reaching forward with one had to push his trolley cart (Authors A-E, Young Adult Fiction: To Be Restocked) in front of him, following it towards the YA section to put the books back on their shelves.

They didn't talk for the rest of the afternoon, partly out of fear of Ms. Sorkin and partly out of annoyance on Kat's behalf. Warren whistled the Savage Garden song he'd been singing earlier for the next two hours, to her mounting annoyance. She was all too willing to leave the building, to step into the fresh breeze as she blew her hair up and out of her eyes and perched on a crusty-looking and unsanitary public bench while trying to make minimal contact with it's surface. She was waiting for Johnny to come and pick her up, and just then a vibrating in the butt pocket of her pants made her jump. She grabbed her phone out of her jeans pocket; inspecting the caller ID before answering. Merle, as she called the dilapidated hunk of electronics, was on his dying breaths. The silver flip-phone made in approximately 1948 had lost a screw from somewhere and it appeared on the outer screen, trapped between the display and the plastic covering it as the front half hung at an angle from the back. Holding the phone so that the one limp hinge that remained didn't flap closed, she spoke into the mouthpiece.

"Hey Johnny."

"Hey Kitty Kat. Uh, listen…" She rolled her eyes at his tellingly hesitant voice.

"Why can't you pick me up?"

"Uh, well, I got cast as Christian de Neuvillette in the play! So… I have to stay for first rehearsal." Kat beamed, she'd heard enough about the damn play to know he'd been cast as the handsome suitor who enlists the help of Cyrano de Bergerac to woo Roxanne. Johnny was gorgeous, a good fit for the character.

"Oh my god! That's great!" She wasn't aware that she was smiling too-widely into the empty space before her.

"So, I have to go Kat, I'll talk to you later, m'kay?"

"Okay, well, I guess I'll just take the bus-" but he'd already hung up. She sighed, preparing herself for the next fifty minutes she'd spent either waiting for or on the bus to take her the twenty minute drive home.

"Need a ride?"

"Oh, no, thanks but-" she paused when she turned, finally placing the unfamiliar voice as her gaze lifted to meet Warren's, standing behind her. "Uh, sure, thanks, but I live kind of far away from here and-" she broke off as Warren motioned for her to follow him and she stood, taking quick steps to keep up with the boy. He motioned to the passenger side of a beat up black Jeep, parked carelessly in a _Granny's Knitting Needles Customers Only _parking space, and she opened the unlocked passenger door. She slid into the seat and pulled her seatbelt across her in one fluid motion and he watched her; eyes neutral but observant. She smiled a quick, shy smile before ducking her head self-consciously, slightly embarrassed by her helium-induced antics of the afternoon.

They sat for a moment in silence before Warren suddenly reached towards her, hand grazing her leg and she inhaled sharply and- he popped the latch of the glove compartment before grabbing a fistful of uncased CD's, leaving still more of them in a jumble in the drawer. A boy's handwriting inscribed the gold or silver tops of most of them, everything from "Bob Dylan Best" to "Bad Techno" to "Legit. Punk" (Black Flag, the Buzzcocks, and the Sex Pistols written in smaller letters beneath it). The blank ones left her even more curious than the ones in his hand, which he dumped back into the compartment, slamming it closed, one CD remaining in his palm. It was untitled, only a date- 9/6, September 6th- scrawled messily in blue sharpie. The CD made a grinding noise in the player as Warren threw the stick shift into reverse, backing hazardously before pulling the gear shift into 1, then 2 as they pulled out of the lot ("Right" at Kat's direction), then 3, 4, and 5 as they sped along the almost-freeway that was the two-lane drive along the beach, volleyball courts in the sand on one side and a lake peppered with reeds on the other; a sign inscribed "BIRD REFUGE: DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS" hung crooked on the gate locking it's parking lot after three o'clock in the afternoon.

The CD finally keyed up, and the opening chords to "Honey and the Moon," by Joseph Arthur, filled the car in almost perceptible waves- like the syrupy animation of the movie Fantasia as the orchestra played. She felt warm and happy, and as Warren watched she smiled the first real smile he'd ever seen: eyes closed and mouth pulled wide- she had a dimple he'd never noticed before, on her left cheek- as she let a forearm rest out of the window, dragging through the air as her hair blew wild. It lent the appearance of a ruddy halo around her as her pale skin almost sparkled. He saw her eyes in natural light for the first time and was surprised by the gold flecks that shone so brightly in the sun, reminding him of old gold coins and they were more leonine than ever now and she looked beautiful for the first time, in that moment, when she smiled and sang and even though her voice was rough and raspy and off-key, he liked it because it was pure happiness in that one second.

_Don't know why I'm still afraid, if you weren't real I would make you up, now. _

_I wish that I could follow through I know that your love is true and deep as the sea,_

_But right now, everything you want is wrong and right now, all your dreams are waking up_

_And right now, I wish I could follow you to the shores_

_Of freedom, where no one lives. _

_Remember when we first met, and everything was still a bet in love's game_

_You would call; I'd call you back and then I'd leave message on your answering machine_

_But right now, everything is turning blue and right now the sun is trying to kill the moon_

_And right now, I wish I could follow you to the shores_

_Of freedom, where no one lives. _

_We're made out of blood and rust, looking for someone to trust without a fight_

_I think that you came too soon, you're the honey and the moon_

_That light up my night. _

_Take the Las Positas exit_, she told him. _Then, left on Treasure, then Serena- no, right on Serena- then another right, onto Lomita_. _Yeah- that one, it's the one with the white Volvo in the driveway, there, with the big tree, 2939, yeah._

"Thanks," she said to him as she fingered her seatbelt. "For the ride, and for…"

"Uh, yeah. Sure," he said, more gruffly than he'd intended. She let the seatbelt fall, and it coiled back into itself as she grabbed her canvas bag and hopped lightly onto the curb, shutting the door with a light tap and walking blithely up the steps leading to the turquoise front door of the tile-roofed terra cotta house, a small Spanish-style building that he liked.

Warren pulled quickly from the curb, making a three-point turn on her annoyingly narrow and sloped one-way street. As he was driving away, about to turn the bend that made the street appear like an elbow, he glanced into his rearview mirror. From her porch, she was facing him as a tan-and-white dog jumped on her, nearly knocking her over and she raised a hand, one hand, as if she could tell he saw.


	6. Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

**Alright, I know it's kind of a short chapter, but it was a good place to stop. Also, thanks for all the great reviews, seriously, I was a bit worried this one was going nowhere. Hope you guys enjoy.**

"So, who was _that?_" An unwelcome intrusion into her daydreams, the youthful voice Kat heard too curious for her liking.

"A friend, _Bonnie._" She met the blue eyes of her younger sister, who'd decided that thirteen was old enough to automatically assume any of Kat's friends-even _Derek's _friends, who was four years older than Kat- were going to fall in love with her, though the only friend of Kat's that she'd ever met was Johnny, who was _gay, for Chrissake, I know he's pretty, Bo, but he's GAY_ she tried to tell the younger girl; to no avail, of course.

"Jesus, chill out Katherine- I guess it's just a first that I see you with an actual boy with a you-know-what who doesn't like other boys' you-know-what's."

"Okay, Bo- you are just angry and bitter that Johnny didn't want to play _strip tennis _with you last weekend. Get over it! I swear to god if you say one more thing I will tell Mom, and news flash? You are too young for Warren. _Too young_. Get. A. Life!"

"Warren, huh? Katie liiiiiiiikes him."

" Aren't you late for Halter Tops and Glitter Eye Shadow Bitch Prep?"

"It's called having a social life, actually. Why- wanna come? You need it." Kat rolled her eyes, pulling her sister's hair as she moved around her, escaping up the dark hallway to her room.

"Mooooom! Kat called me a fat whore!"

"Did NOT!"

"Where are my keys? Kay, Bo- I _really _don't have time for this- apologize and move on. I have to teach in twenty minutes!" Ouch. The university Naomi taught classes in Celtic Mythology at was nearly half an hour away- she'd told Kat that she'd chosen the major thinking that she'd go to Ireland and meet hot Irish guys with "sexy accents and crooked teeth," which was way too much information coming from someone's mother. It'd worked out for her, Kat thought, as her dad wished her mother goodbye through his Northern Irish brogue. She'd inherited his pale skin and brown on brown hair and eyes- _thanks so much, Dad! _Her brother Derek had inherited their father's dark hair and pale skin, but their mother's blue eyes and Bo just got the whole Naomi shebang: the beautiful clear olive skin, the ocean light-and-dark blue eyes, the perfect teeth, button nose, nauseatingly long and toned legs- the thirteen-year-old was already taller than her. Kat pulled her shirt down to cover more of her long torso- damn Bo's long legs- and flopped onto her bed, the lumpy futon she could never overcome her hatred of shopping to get rid of.

"Katie," Derek slouched into view as he opened- without knocking- her door. His long black eyelashes gave him a sleepy look, one that girls inexplicably found "sexy." Ew. Derek would eat things that were MOLDY, he'd just scrape the goddamn green whatever-it-was off and eat around it. _So _gross. If it was pizza he would even eat the de-molded part.

"_What, _Derek? I'm busy." _Lie. I'm about to listen to Honey and the Moon on my iPod and think about a certain Savage Garden performance. _As if he could read her mind- he knew her too well, honestly- he merely smirked, an infuriating smirk to Kat.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Have you seen the nail clippers?" She motioned wordlessly to her blue dresser, and he grabbed them, leaving the door open after him.

Pressure was building behind her eyes. She rubbed her temples, eyes closed. _Where's that pressure point that's supposed to get rid of headaches?_ Aspirin… what she needed was Asp-

"Kat!" No one in her family called her that. What the fuck? Someone was actually throwing rocks at her window… Who even does that?

It was Magenta. Kat held up one finger before dropping her curtains back into place, scratching her head and exacerbating the bed head her curls so easily frizzed into after lying down for something like 20 minutes. The Caucasian fro, wow- really flattering. Magenta smirked at her when she met her at the sidewalk.

"This constitutes as stalking, right? How do you know where I live?"

"Are you shitting me? I'm your neighbor, I live on the corner, and I'm bored. By the way, I saw you and Warren driving down the street a little bit ago- you two looked happy." Kat switched her weight from one foot to the other, annoyed at the other girl's obvious amusement.

"Don't even. I know you're my neighbor, but how'd you know that was my bedroom?"

"I know everything. Come on- get in the car," she motioned towards a baby blue station wagon.

"Nice ride." Kat walked slowly to the passenger's side of the car. What was happening? Magenta slammed her car door, ignoring her, before leaning down to stare at Kat, on the curb still. _Get in_, her eyes said.

"Derek! Going out!" Kat called to where her brother was playing basketball with their neighbor Donnie in the driveway. She ignored him when he asked where she was going. Where was she going?

"Want one?" Magenta asked, lighting a cigarette once they were far enough away from their houses. Kat nodded before eagerly grabbing the butt of a cigarette Magenta had pushed half-out of the carton with one finger. Nice trick. She pulled her own lighter out of her pocket- another nervous habit, carrying her lighter to flick it on and off- and lit the cigarette in one light, let hand cupped around the flame.

"Marlboros suck," she said as she exhaled through both her mouth and nose. "But thanks."

"Tell me about it," Mag replied. She paused, for a beat.

"It's all about the Lucky Strikes," they said in unison, before turning to each other and laughing, slightly.

"I'm so pissed you can't get them anywhere now. I mean, for a while I'd lift them from my brother, he practically bought out the whole fucking stock at the Shell station, but even he's out now." Both of the older Cole siblings smoked, a silent rebellion against their health-freak parents and sister- even if Bo only did it because she thought it'd make her hotter.

"I know, I mean- _Marlboro Lites? _I fucking smell like my Grandpa. Whatever." As if whoever had stopped making Lucky strikes had changed the song on the radio, Modest Mouse gave way to Sugarcult. Magenta snorted in contempt at their pop-punk-4-life attitude and shoved the CD into the slot where it'd been resting, half-out, with her chipped maroon nails. "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt," filled the car.

"You like We Are Scientists?" Kat was surprised, to be honest. She hadn't really thought many people knew the band.

Sometimes," she replied, smiling as the music blared.

"Same- I kind of have a love/hate relationship with them."

"I kind of have a love/hate relationship with a lot of things." She turned to Kat, smirking slightly, but Kat liked the smirk this time. There was nothing harsh about it. She smiled back and both girls laughed to themselves, sort of. Kat took another drag on her cigarette, and looked out the window.

_The day you move, I'm probably going to explode_

_It's true, I'm probably going to explode_

_Oh, you'll pray for proof, I'm probably making this up_

_It's true, I'm probably making this up, Oh_

_Because my body is your body, I won't tell anybody_

_If you want to use my body go for it, yeah_

_Go for it._


	7. Summer Babe Winter Version

**Alright, I know this one is excessively short, but... well, whatever. Next one will be longer.**

Magenta broke the comfortable silence first as they drove through the growing darkness.

"You have huge feet," she said to Kat, who'd been resting them- bare, she hadn't put on shoes when she'd come down to meet Magenta earlier- on the dashboard.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about big feet…" Her voice was too-low, purposefully suggestive. Magenta laughed, and Kat looked at her feet. Like her hands, they were oversized- disproportionately- and somewhat too skinny, fingers and toes strangely long if you took the time to notice. They looked like they belonged to an elf man, or something weird like that- like the changeling in The Moorchild, her favorite book growing up. "Seriously though, where are we going?"

"You'll see." That was all Kat could get out of her, but she thought the purple-haired girl was smiling more than usual- even if it was a smirk. They drove for nearly forty minutes with Kat growing more and more curious, though she didn't give Magenta the satisfaction of letting her know. She felt almost… nervous, around the dark-haired girl, her blunt honesty and prolonged silences. She drummed her fingers against her knees, tapping her toes along to the beat of "If I Was A Lover," by TV on the Radio.

Magenta swerved quickly off the road, screeching to a halt before quickly switching off her headlights.

"Get out of the car." _What the fuck? _Kat was wondering mildly if she should feel concerned for her life.

"This isn't the part where you shank me, is it?" She deadpanned, though Magenta's chuckle was quiet. She couldn't see where they were, but there was water beneath them- they were at the edge of some giant body of water. It was- it had to be- the reservoir. They were at the East wall of the reservoir, a thirty-foot drop down into the clear water that sparkled in the light of the clear night sky.

"Take off your clothes."

"Are you _shitting _me?" Okay- officially getting creepy now. The other girl appeared almost surprised for a moment, but her face relaxed into a smile.

"You wish, little Kitten, but we're going for a swim- unless you want to swim in jeans and a sweatshirt, of course." Kat looked down at the clothes that would certainly be heavy to swim in.

"Um, I'm 98 sure that what you think I'm going to with you here is 100 illegal." But she pulled her sweatshirt over her head, her jeans off, leaving the clothes in a pile at her feet. Magenta merely shrugged, removing her own boots and pants, then shirt. Standing in her underwear, Kat felt pale and exposed. Vulnerable, almost, compared to the tan body standing beside her, short and toned. _But to Magenta? _The other girl stepped towards her, Kat had to force herself not to take a step back. Back would mean over the edge. Music was playing from Magenta's car, now, "Summer Babe (Winter Version)" spilled from the car. To Kat's surprise, the smaller girl took her hand and pulled Kat towards her.

"Are you ready?" She half spoke, half whispered. The air was heavy with Kat's apprehension, but it cleared once the older girl winked at her. She pulled Kat to the edge of the reservoir.

"Three…Two-" Kat had been planning on bracing herself at one, protecting herself from the fall, but it was almost as if Magenta knew she would- knew _her. _At two, she jumped, pulling Kat with her. Down and down and down they fell- it felt farther than it looked.

_Icy Baby, I saw your girlfriend_

_She's eating her fingers like they're just another meal_

_She waits there in the Levee wash _

_Mixing cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar_

_My eyes stick to all those shiny robes_

_Where on the protein delta strip _

_In an abandoned houseboat, I'll wait there_

_I'll be waiting forever…_

They floated in the water, Kat backstroking in gentle circles and Magenta floating still, looking up at the moon.

"I come out here all the time," her voice sounded almost as though it was coming to Kat in a dream, sleepy and halfway to ethereal. "I've never brought anyone before… do you like it?"

"Yes," Kat said without thinking. It was the truth. She did like it, felt like a mermaid when all she could hear was water lapping against her form, and Magenta's.

"I knew you would like it… I just… wanted to bring you here. I never have before."

"Well, if Layla or Zack are the other options, that's understandable." Magenta laughed easily, both liked Layla and Zack. Magenta's mouth looked soft when she laughed, a dark heart in her face, barely distinguishable in the shadows but flashing white with her teeth when she laughed. She bumped against the other girl's bare hip, and in the water Magenta's skin brushing against hers reminded her of that of the dolphin's, the one that had beached itself two summers ago. She and Derek had carried it back into the water, tried to save it. Her mouth looked so soft…


	8. Diddle My Skittle AKA Untitled

**Alright, thanks for everyone's reviews- this chapter isn't my best, but... yeah. Enjoy? I hope.**

Kat turned somersaults, four in a row before popping her head up like a cork, snorting water from her nose as tears streamed down her eyes.

"Oh my god! Shit," Magenta began to swim, fast, for the emergency ladder. Someone had pulled up beside her abandoned car- lights were flashing from it's roof. Police car…

"We're gonna get arrested! I am going to have a criminal record- I hate you so much right now." Magenta nearly laughed, but stifled it quickly as they climbed the dusty footpath that servicemen used to get to the reservoir.

"Okay- I have a plan," said Magenta after several seconds of quiet half-climbing half-running. She motioned for Kat to follow her, they nearly crawled on hands and knees to a spot close to her car, yet out of sight of the police officer. Kat's clothes were thankfully in a pile beside the brush, farther from the car than the police officer could see. She laid the sweatshirt out beneath her, and laid down on it.

"Lay down next to me."

"_WHAT? _No way."

"Do it- unless you want a dripping wet mug shot." Grumbling indistinguishably, Kat knelt beside Magenta, finally resting on her back, rigid and uncomfortable. "Kat," Magenta pulled her chin 90 degrees, it they were now looking directly into each other's eyes. _Oh. My. God. She's not going to… Uhh. No- this is… No._ Magenta looked at something behind the other girl's shoulder, and her eyes widened for a second, but she winked at Kat, and let out a breath. Her face was getting closer… closer… Her lips were soft, as soft as they'd looked in the water, but smaller- no matter what she'd thought, this was not okay. Kat felt like a giant against the small girl, she wanted to curl in on herself, to stop the small and persistent lips. Kat… didn't like this. There wasn't pressure or passion or attraction, even. Small lips on smaller lips and where was the boy-smell and there was no smoky sweetness and there was no- connection. She thought of Warren, kissing Magenta; thinking of Warren made her sad.

The two girls went stiff at the touch of a flashlight's beam, and Kat shook, from cold and apprehension. They kissed through the sound of a man's derisive snort, through the mumbled _dykes _that made Kat's blood run hot with anger, and then she thought of Johnny, of how many times he'd been called a fag and she nearly cried then and then the cop car was leaving and spraying their bodies with gravel- that must have been intentional now because his car wasn't even close to them and then they were pulling apart and Magenta looked as, as, as- as sad as Kat did.

"That… was uncomfortable." Magenta said and her Magenta voice was like the Magenta before and Kat laughed, and they tried to act like they'd just come out to dry off, and go home and they drove in telltale silence and they sang quiet-like with the CD's and they were happy to go their separate ways.

"Mag?" Kat was getting out but she -they- couldn't leave like that. "So… the whole awkward thing. Over it, right?"

"So over it," Magenta said in a purposefully Valley Girlesque voice. "So, tell me Cher, is Warren a Baldwin or is he a Baldwin?" Kat laughed outright, now, and stuck her tongue out at Magenta.

"Don't you mean Zack?"

"I'm going now," Magenta said quickly, and Kat laughed again as the baby blue station wagon pulled from the curb. Kat turned towards her house and it's inviting warmth, yellowy lights glinting to her. She turned, walking up the street. She walked, and walked- she walked past State Street and Las Positas, she passed the neon signs for bars and restaurants. Someone… was calling her name, it sounded like. There's lots of Kats, she told herself, and kept walking.

"KAT!" It was louder now, it had to be for her- the person sounded like he was following her. She turned, annoyed at the interruption in her angst meditations. It was- Warren? Will and Layla followed him, _greeeat. _

"Hey, are you okay?" Warren asker her, and she nodded. It was useless, though, she knew she looked paler than usual. Will and Layla caught up to the two of them.

"Hey, Kat, are you okay? We saw you through the window where we were having dinner- The Paper Lantern? You know it? Warren works there, and Will and I were just grabbing a bite to eat, want to join us?" Will nodded, and Kat was about to say no when a hand made it's way surreptitiously down her back, spreading warmth with it.

"Come on, Kat- it'll make Layla's day," a voice whispered to her.

"Uh, sure Layla, I'll come eat with you guys." They walked into the light, the four of them together.

Warren took his fifteen minute break for the night and sat next to her, laughing politely with her at Will's somewhat spastic humor. When Warren's fifteen minute break turned into fifty and he was wrangled back into the kitchen by a tiny woman who's ability to strike fear into the 6'4" boy's heart Kat envied, Will and Layla stood, ready to leave.

"Want a ride home, Kat?" Will asked, but Kat shook her head.

"I think I'm gonna hang out here for a while, actually," she said, though Layla- as usual- looked unconvinced.

"Are you sure?" Layla's voice was sweet, and her concern nearly made Kat cry. She nodded vehemently enough for Will to gently pull Layla away, and they called their goodbyes over their shoulders as they left.

A body slouched next to her; she turned her head slightly from its position on the table, resting on her forearms, but smiled slightly when she saw that it was Warren. She reached her right hand towards him slightly, as it was already crossed, and touched his flame tattooed wrist with a finger; the flame-colored skin was several degrees warmer.

"So I've been fired for the rest of the night for being an 'incompetent, oversexed egomaniacal bastard,'" his voice was warm, and seemed all too pleased at being banned from the Chinese food restaurant's kitchen for the rest of the night. "In the spirit of commiseration, I told you, I think it's only fair that you tell me what you're so freaked out about."

"I'm not freaked out." Even she wasn't convinced by her voice.

"Uhh-huh. I Savage Gardened for you. Tell." She giggled quietly at the memory of his karaoke glory, and he shot her a look- his attempt at angry fell somewhat short, and made her laugh harder. "What?"

"You look like my dog Zooey when I give her a bath," she said between laughs. He smiled slightly, but his face returned to mask-like evenness after a moment and he was silent. She knew he was waiting for her to tell him what was on her mind, and after several minutes of toying with her straw- now chewed on and twisted beyond function- she sighed, and opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out. She cleared her throat, opening her mouth unwillingly to speak again. "I… I kissed Magenta." She was unprepared for his reaction, he laughed- more of a roar than a laugh.

"WHAT? Can you repeat that, please, I think I hallucinated." Kat resister the urge to let her elbow slip, falling sharply onto his balls.

"Well, you know what Assface? I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries." This only made him laugh harder, uttering a gasping _Monty Python? _between gale-force howls of laughter. People were starting to stare at them and Kat felt her face heat up as Warren laughed, tears streaming down his face now. She moved to slide past him and leave, but he motioned for her to sit down, laughs subsiding.

"Okay… Okay, I'm sorry it's just…. Magenta? And then you Monty Pythoned me and the look on your face, it was just… Oh, God- that was great." Kat was trying her best to look thoroughly offended, but her amusement at his animation was taking over. She cracked a smile, and he smiled back. He looked very young when he smiled.

"It's not funny, though. Seriously. We jumped into the reservoir, and a cop came because he saw her car parked on that edge thing, you know what I'm taking about? Well, we snuck back out and then she tells me to lay down, and we're trying to hide, but the guy starts coming over, and so she kissed me, and it was really really bad and uncomfortable but, you know, it was so much better when the police officer called us dykes! And it was weird kissing someone I don't even like, especially when I like-" Her mouth snapped shut, her teeth almost audibly clicking together. Warren wasn't laughing anymore, at least.

"That sucks," he said simply, and she was glad that he didn't say any more about it.

"Yeah. It does." They sat like that for a while, until Mrs. Li came out and yelled at Warren again and he stood to leave, pulling Kat up with him by the elbow.

"I'm driving you home."

"No, it's okay. I want to walk, and-"

"Uh-huh. No. It's eleven on a Friday night- you are not walking three miles in the dark. Nice try, though." Kat sighed before throwing up her hands and pushing past Warren to walk out the door first- smiling to herself out of his view.


	9. Tool Time

_How does this kid make me laugh so much? _Kat wondered as Warren did a cracked out imitation of Ricky Gervais's charity dance from The Office. They were sitting in his car in front of her dark house, only the light in night-owl Derek's room showing that it wasn't abandoned. She was the sort of person to dwell and worry, to obsess and angst over, but now- she felt light, airy and happy and laughing. She pulled the pack of Marlboro Lites that she's stolen from Magenta out of her pocket, lighting one quickly and ducking down in her seat. She took big, hungry breaths, exhaling through her nostrils as twin streams of smoke curls from them. Warren watched her for a moment looking almost thoughtful before he extended a hand toward the girl.

"Can I bum one?" Wordlessly she pulled the top off with the index finger of the hand holding the carton, crinkling the paper inside as Warren grabbed one of the six left. He lit cigarette with a finger, exhaling around the thing as he blew smoke from his mouth. His face lit up under the cigarette light, its red glow casting a fiery aura on him.

"Wanna go someplace? I don't want to go home." Warren looked at her for a moment before his gaze wandered to her house, back to her face…

"You sure? Parents won't be pissed?"

"Nope, Derek owes me one anyways, from one little vomit shower incident of last summer." Warren winced, and Kat smirked. He turned the key in the ignition, pulling away from the curb and getting part of the way up the street before remembering his headlight, and switching them on with a muttered _fuck_.

"You see well in the dark, too?"

"Yeah, I guess, I always forget my lights are off."

"Yeah- I always thought it had something to do with the whole lion thing, it's a pain in the ass to forget to turn your lights on, I've been pulled over like four times for it." Warren shook his head through a smile, and turned left at the top of her street.

"You know what we should do?" Warren shrugged, and turned to the girl. "We should get shitfaced."

"Mmm. And how are we supposed to get the alcohol?"

"Ah, my little matchboy- ye of little faith. Turn around." Sighing, Warren turned the car around, driving back down Kat's street for the umpteenth time. She slipped quietly out of the car without shutting the door and ran, ducking, down her side yard. Warren heard rustling noises and rolled his eyes- this girl was insane- moments later Kat appeared, gripping the handles of a small plastic bag. She got back into the car and held the door about three inches from shut, finally closing it when they reaches Magenta's house at the corner.

Kat untied the handles of the Vons bag and apparently it wasn't as small as it looked, because there had to be at least twenty cans of beer in the bag. She popped the top of a shitty Bud Lite, grimacing as she chugged the can in one breath. Warren was staring at her almost incredulously.

"Do you have some kind of throat problem or something?" She laughed, tossing the can into his backseat. "I really would prefer not to add to my criminal record- can we at least go somewhere?"

"Who knew you could be such a Jewish grandmother? Should I start calling you Silvia, or do you like Myrna better?" Under his glare, she smiled. "I'm Jewish, I'm allowed to say that." He pulled a sharp u-turn at the next stoplight, and Kat giggled as she leaned out the window, hair flying. Several minutes later and she was following him up a creaking and unreliable-looking fire escape. Four flights up and he was shoving a cracked window open, throwing one leg in before ducking inside. Hands reached out, pulling Kat's torso downward as her legs slipped through after. Warren was holding her like he had the time after Save the Citizen, but she merely slid cat-like from his arms, landing easily on her feet. She looked around at the studio, clean for all it was decrepit. She held up the beer, and turned to him.

"This is where I live," he said in response to her silent question. She nodded, and set the beer down on the futon that doubled as a bed and a couch, sitting quickly beside the bag. The silence between them was awkward for the first time, and Warren turned on the TV. Kat handed him a beer and they drank in silence for a while, the only sounds coming from them were the crunch of empty cans and the pop of new ones. Kat knew she was a bit beyond buzzed when she began laughing so hard that she was snorting as some lame Tool Time rerun, a telltale sign that she was drunk.

"Jonathan Taylor Thomas is so cute," she semi-slurred. Warren gave her a slightly disgusted look.

"He's like twelve. That's not even legal."

"I don't mean _here, _in Wild America he was at least fifteen." Kat giggled, and Warren just shook his head, quickly changing the channel. "How many beers have you had? Because you're nowhere near drunk enough." Kat's voice was clearer now, as she grabbed for another beer.

"Seven," Warren replied simply.

"How do you not even feel it, then?" She was somewhat surprised.

"Oh, I do." Kat raised one eyebrow, disbelieving.

"Prove it, then Mr. Heavyweight. Do something you… would _only _ever do if you were drunk. Warren drank the rest of his beer, eyes roaming the room as if looking for inspiration. His face stilled, suddenly, and she watched him with growing interest as though she thought she might be able to read the wheels turning in his head. A quick, private smile crossed his face, and he turned to her.

"Do something I would only ever do if I was drunk?" She nodded, overenthusiastically- she was an energetic drunk. Warren leaned towards her, grabbing her almost roughly, misjudging himself. Her eyes were surprised as he looked at her below him, lying on her back on the futon now, the abandoned TV only white noise. He could smell her breath, beer and the chocolate mints from the bowl by the door in The Paper Lantern, tobacco- he loved the smell of tobacco. Lowering himself on strong arms, he kissed her as her legs came up to circle him on either side.

A strong kiss- her lips were fuller than they looked as they gave and took and gave and took and they tasted the same beer in each other's mouths as in their own that dark and bitter that private taste. That dark and private room where they did dark and private things with Warrens shirt off as he held his own weight millimeters above her and his arms they started to shiver a little lie down Kat told him and so he let go she wasn't as fragile as she looked that golden eyed cat girl with her lion's mane tangled in his eager fingers and his silky strands tickling her cheeks like his lips tickled and tantalized her mouth with his warm lips his burning lips like burning honey.


	10. Blue Velvet

**Alright, VERY** **short chapter, but it explains some stuff I was going to wait to clarify until later- might help you undertand Katherine. So, here it is folks, I'll update again soon but this English paper is absolutely kicking my ass and then shitting on me, so I'm a little busy. Wish me luck.**

Kat pushed him slightly to the side, they needed to take a breather. Smiling at the tan boy beside her, she giggled as he reached a hand up to touch her chipped tooth.

"From Save the Citizen, remember? I think I bled on your shirt… Be right back, okay? I have to call Derek." She didn't, but she did anyways. She asked him to cover for her and he said no, but he did anyways.

"Kat," Warren spoke her name, and she looked at him and she wasn't sure whether to be excited or whether to be embarrassed or ashamed or whether she should just go kiss him. She tilted her head to the side, slightly, he wanted to touch her neck, maybe, to kiss her neck. "I thought you were so shy."

"I am."

"No. I'm not buying it. Good, shy girls don't kiss like that. Bullshit." He looked her straight in the eye, watching for a reaction. Kat bit her lip, what was there to say?

"I'm shy. I'm not good."

"But the… the whole preppy braid, white shirt, pants thing. The whole… smart, unattainable thing." Kat started to feel really hot, she blew her hair out of her face, fanning herself with a hand.

"I just… when I started junior high, it was awful. People made fun of my hair, my clothes, my skin- I used to have freckles. Like, a _lot_ of freckles. My freckles had freckles. I know I'm not pretty, but-" Warren raised his eyebrows, clearly disputing her description. "No, seriously, I'm not fishing for compliments here. I thought… I thought that if I was in control, my life would go the way I wanted. I thought if I could control my clothes and my grades and my hair, even, my life would stay in control. I thought if I could control myself, I could control my life and my personality and I thought I would make friends and I thought people would like me and-" She cut herself off, clearing her throat uncomfortably. "I love to drink and I love to smoke… because I say what I think and what I mean, like I can't when I'm sober. I don't feel so mute and shy. I mean, half the time I regret it later, fuck, I'll probably regret _this _later but I'm drunk and drunk gives me an excuse to be honest, better than regretting not doing anything about it."

"About what?"

"Everything."

"If you're so shy, why are you being so honest?"

"I don't know. I… I like you. I feel comfortable around you, and around Layla, and Will, and even Magenta. I was sick of being invisible… I had to try something, _anything_. I'm not quiet, I'm shy. Did you really think I was that boring all the time?"

"Well, yeah," Warren replied with a smirk, laughing when she jabbed at him, missing, with an elbow.

"Well, you know what Mr. Broody Brooding One, I actually like who I can be when I'm with people I love…" His face grew serious, as did hers- when she realized the implications of what she'd just said. He moved an arm to snake around her shoulders, pulling her towards him as he pressed TV/VIDEO on his remote, the crappy four-inch TV flickered to blue, and the DVD menu for _Blue Velvet _keyed up. She leaned into him, into his weight, his warmth. Someone watching them might've said they looked like angels, halfway to celestial as they glowed, together, in that flickering light- but lit up from the inside even more, lit up in their eyes.


	11. The Other Side of Mt Heart Attack

**Alright, sorry for the long break there. I sliced the tip of my finger off with one of those gnarly serrated knives making salad. Hopefully I didn't eat the elusive fingertip. Longer next time.**

Warren let Kat dig her fingers into his bicep when she saw the ear- no matter how fake he tried to tell her it was, she was so scared. He let her rest her head on his shoulder, let her breathe on his neck. He finished the beer himself, let himself rest his head on top of hers on his shoulder. Drunk, he struggled to remember what had happened less than an hour earlier… he- he hadn't kissed her, had he? Oh, shit. She was so much… more, than she seemed. So much greater than the sum of her parts- oh, would Mr. Baths love to hear that now; he'd only failed geometry twice, and all…

He wanted her to know that he loved her too, and Layla, and even Will. He wanted her to know that he understood that she meant love, that she wasn't _in _love with him, but he was definitely in like with her. In like with the beautiful, insecure girl who's eyes slanted just a fraction too much to look entirely human; who's lips didn't smile often enough to make it count. Her eyes opened, then, and she looked at him through slit lids and her eyes were dark and her hair was dark and her skin was pale, so pale she looked dragged from the depths of the ocean with the serpentine curls the heavy-lidded nocturnal eyes.

"It's raining," she said quietly, stretching with a slight hum. He gave her a quizzical glance.

"No, it's not." Her eyes flicked from Warren to the window. She shrugged.

"Well, it will. Soon, I can smell it." Sure enough, if they stopped to listen, tiny plops issued from the alley outside of Warren's window. Rain. "Don't you love the rain?" Kat's voice was significantly more alert now, and tinged with… excitement, almost.

"No. Shouldn't you hate the rain?" She looked puzzled. "The whole cat thing…" She shook her head, opening his window- frowning as the wood stuck, swelling in the damp, and stuck her head out into the heavy air. Tendrils of hair clung to her face as she turned to Warren, somewhat waterlogged curls stuck to her arms, still in a tank top after she took off his jacket.

"Come on," Warren looked up from his hands to find Kat looking at him expectantly, hands braced on her hips. As Warren didn't move to join her, she sighed, and stepped towards him. A thin, cold hand- nearly as large as his, Jesus- made it's way into Warren's, pulling up and out and they were at the window, then, and Kat hoisted on leg through- then another, and she bent backwards, shimmying, there- out. Warren hesitated, watching her as he prepared to follow. The rain seriously cramped his pyro tendencies. Kat giggled, none of the rasping laugh he usually heard. Her giggle seemed to echo in the short space between his building and the one beside it, a chirping giggle, a child's laugh. She stuck her tongue out as she looked up at the sky, tasting for raindrops as he'd done as a child. He stuck his head out of the window, biceps bunching as he prepared to lift himself up, when Kat stopped him, long thin fingers on his shoulder, holding and pushing and grasping.

"Wait. We need music." Warren rolled his own eyes, exasperated even as he turned back, back towards his somewhat dilapidated stereo. He picked up a CD from the third stack, hands clean as he carefully set the disc into the stereo. A lone chord reverberated through the dim apartment and out into the more than dim alley.

"Liars? Nice. You always surprise me." She twirled, spun like a top with her arms outstretched, open face tipped up to the unresponsive night. "It's not cloudy," she said, "you can see the stars even though it's raining."

"How do I surprise you?" Kat looked at Warren, her thoroughly soaked her a nearly-straight black sheet around her face, over her chest, her arms. She thought before replying.

"You just…. You're not what I thought you were. You… you like the library, you watch Blue Velvet. You love the same music as I do and the same books. I just never would have thought that you and I would have… Would have so much in common, I guess. I mean- people look at you, and they see a brooding, tortured artist bad boy with a clichéd heart of gold that only they can bring out type thing- the freshman girls, at least. People look at me, they see a possibly albino freakishly overbearing and unnecessarily silent girl with strangely large hands. Every time I look at you, or talk to you, you never stop looking different to me. That's all." That's all? As if it wasn't everything. Kat looked uncomfortable as she met Warren's ever steady gaze. She'd sat down beside him, on the first step of the fire escape off of his landing- if you could call it a landing. She jumped up, he craned his neck to follow her movement.

"Dance with me?" She asked.

"I don't dance." His voice was flat, and yet still… she cupped the back of his neck with a hand as she crouched next to him. He wanted to shiver under her touch. He wanted to reach up and take her hand in his own. He didn't.

"I love this song. How can it get any better than "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack" in the rain with moi?" He snorted at the flippant currant in her voice, but let himself be pulled to his feet, with no small effort on her part, and let her wrap slightly knobby wrists around his neck, though he let his arms hang limp and remained stubbornly motionless as she swayed against him. Kat surprised him, standing on tiptoe to whisper up into his ear "Please?" And he found her hands on his, guiding them over her back, and they rested on the slight swell that was her hips, and he found himself pushing close to her as she pressed herself to him, head resting against his shoulder. And they danced, hair wet and wild, eyes bright, mouths twitching to hide smiles and then her mouth twitching, teeth exposed as they bit her bottom lip- and it was too much for him, and he leaned down down down and his lips were on hers, covering them overlapping being covered. And when she pressed her hands palm-first against his chest- warm, hot even- she leaned back and he frowned, but her smile smoothed the furrows above his eyebrows. They danced so trusting in each other so high up in the air.

_I won't run far_

_I can always be found_

_If you need me_

_I can always be found_

_If you want me to stay_

_I will stay by your side_

_I won't run far_

_I can always be found, _

_I will stay by your side_

_And I want you to find me_

_So I'll stay by your side… _


End file.
